The Ripple Effect of Communication

As we all know communication is critical to an organisation.  What we often don’t understand though is how well that communication is being sent and received!   We often use the analogy of the ripple effect when we explain the impacts of communication.  Most people are familiar with the ripple effect that emerges from a pebble being dropped in a pond.  Well this is the same with communication.  How well do you understand what type of ripple is being sent out when you communicate and how well it is being received?

There are many different styles of communication. People wanting to communicate a need to get something done communicate on a scale from very direct to very indirect. There is a range of styles and often when people are communicating in different styles they tend to misinterpret or talk past each other.

Take for example a couple at home and one is communicating to the other about the need to get some milk. A very informative or indirect person (who is seeking buy in) might say “we are out of milk” and a very direct person (who is all about issuing directives and timely-task accomplishment) would say “get some milk”. When you look at these two extremes you can see the possibility for problems. The indirect person may find the direct person incredibly bossy and impolite and the direct person might find the indirect person way to vague and manipulative (“why don’t they just say what they mean?”).

So when thinking about the communication going on in your workplace - could there be a mismatch in styles? If you are thinking about your workplace- what is your style of communication? Are you more direct or more informing? What are your colleagues or your team members’ styles?  Have you ever found out how your communication style is received/viewed by others? Most of us have heard the adage “message received is message perceived” – so what are people taking from your communication style?

We believe communication is the life blood of an organisation and we also believe it’s the lifeblood of a good healthy relationship – personal or professional. Many times when coaching people we have come across what is merely a mis-communication that has ended up ruining a relationship or creating huge stress in the business.

Of course communication is far more than the words we use, it’s the tone, the body language, the eye movement – in fact the current thinking suggests that up to 95% of what we communicate is not the words we use but in the delivery tone, body language and energy we are giving out.

If you do use a more direct form of communication you could be implying a relationship of “one-up” or in other words you do what I tell you to do because I am the boss, the parent etc. This may be appropriate but there may be opportunities even in those relationships to communicate in more of an informing way that implies a relationship of equality! Of course the informing style can also communicate to someone that you know more than I do or I have no power in this situation.

If you do spend time reflecting on your natural style of communication – don’t confuse the relationship-defining aspects of your role(s) with what comes naturally for you as a person.

To become really good at communicating a message the use of storytelling can be incredibly powerful. Our ancestors used verbal storytelling to pass down the stories, myths, and legends and to teach others the way of their tribes. Look for more on storytelling in one of our future newsletters.

Want to read more? Some good references you can read to gain a deeper understanding of communication are

Understanding yourself and others: An Introduction to Interaction Styles, Linda Berens

How to Win Friends & Influence People, Dale Carnegie

A Quantum View of Change Management

Each year there are more and more views on the “right” way to carry out change management in organisations.  For the last few centuries we have seen the Newtonian view of the world take centre stage.  This is viewing the business as a machine that can be separated into parts and managed accordingly.

More recently the systems thinking approach was developed. This approach sees the organisation as an entire system with many parts that make up the whole. Each part requires focus and attention and all parts are interdependent and cyclically linked.

We believe there is now an even broader and deeper perspective that needs to be considered.  This is the Quantum multi-dimensional view of the world that takes the level of interconnectedness and interdependence to a much more critical level.  Quantum physics has progressed the idea of interconnectedness over the last 80 years. It promotes a perspective or world view of seeing the whole (business) as an integrated, multidimensional and deeply interconnected organism. The impacts of this are profound and far reaching. Generally speaking you cannot separate an organism -a living creature - into many pieces and then put it back together hoping it all fits properly!

Using the Quantum view of the world we in fact need to move from our paradigm of linear thinking and cause and effect to one of multi dimensional interconnectedness - one where many dimensions are impacted instantaneously.  When we look at change management in this light it is evident that change will need to be managed differently.

There are many papers and theories written on change management and it is well known that most change programs fail.  A 20 year study of change programs shows that 10% of them have a negative impact on an organisation, 53% no impact and 37% a positive impact (UNSW, Managing Change,2009).  When we take a quantum view of change management we can now begin to understand more fully why this has been happening.

Clients often ask us our view on the best time to bring in a change management strategy.  The answer to this question is simple ... as soon as you think you want to change something you need to be working on the change management component.  We often see major transformational programs take the Newtonian view, where they work in parts, often in isolation to each other.  They work across a very linear project plan, which does not allow for flexibility of change as the environment changes.

Where systems thinking is already introduced in an organisation, we often see a far more integrated approach to change management. Generally though, change is still managed in a very linear fashion.  There is often a set project plan that may cover all aspects of the change and this is essential. However once the change has been integrated and perhaps a review completed, the project team will leave, hoping that the embedding has worked.  How often do we see that 12 months later the change has failed and people have reverted to the old way of doing things?

Taking a Quantum view all aspects of the change program would be managed together and dynamically.  This would include reviewing and managing the total system the program was running within, as well as a review of the impact on people and culture.  The program would be strongly supported with a governance structure that is dynamic and flexible and allows for rapid changes and decisions to be made to support the new system.  In the past we would have seen days if not weeks go by before decisions could be made around change.  By then everything has continued to move.  What we highlight here is that not only does the change management need to be dynamic but all aspects related to the change do as well.  This includes such things as governance and decision making.

Take the example of the delivery of a new process.  The quantum approach would not only develop the process but would also assess, manage and monitor any impact on the people, culture and system it operates within. This approach takes in the total picture and as any environmental changes occur (as they tend to daily in businesses) these are also re-assessed as part of the whole. The system is dynamic and ensures rapid changes can be made as necessary without being cumbersome.   If the change is not managed from a dynamic perspective we would find that the process that is embedded will not match the environment that it needs to operate within.  This is why all elements need to be managed together.

We believe strong change management of the future will be those that can take a quantum view and have systems in place that support the multi-dimensional and interconnected nature of the business they are working within.

Health vs Wealth - Building a Sustainable Future

True Sustainability will only be gained through monitoring and managing the health of your business!  Businesses focusing purely on wealth will quickly find they are left behind!

For too long businesses have focussed purely on the wealth of their organisation.  While this is understandable when they are a business with shareholders who are expecting a strong return, a focus purely on wealth can miss critical aspects of deterioration within the business.

As we sit within the current climate, it is imperative that the rebuilding phase for many of our corporates includes a focus on their corporate health not just a review of strategies to rebuild wealth!

So what do we mean by business health and wealth?  Wealth for a business is its actual overall return from trading.  By today’s standards, this continues to be a primary measure of the success of the business.  Health however is not only measured by the business results but also includes what is happening at the people and cultural level.  It is the people and culture that contribute to the wealth of the business. 

Many would then argue that this is not new to business.  There are many articles around people and culture being critical to your business.  We do not disagree with this, however we are saying it is not enough!  We believe that health measures need to become a primary measure just as financial results are.  We also believe that to complete a survey once a year is not regular enough and that the measures being used are not broad enough. 

People and cultural measures in most major organisations continue to be secondary. They are measured or assessed annually at best.  Business misses a critical element of sustainability when these aspects are not monitored.  The reality is that wealth is an actual outcome of what the overall business is generating.  It is not a true measure of sustainability to simply review trends from financial results.  While these reviews show how an organisation is tracking financially, they do not take into account the people aspect – who and how are those results are generated? Is it sustainable?

A good way to understand this is to think of the business as a house.  It is important that before you build the house it has a solid foundation otherwise you will always be on shaky ground!

The foundation of business from a wealth perspective is its Capital, but from a health and sustainability perspective also includes its people – human capital  Both are absolutely critical to the overall success of the business.

Capital from a financial perspective is well understood but how well understood is the importance of Human Capital?  If we consider again that human capital is the foundation of our business, then how well and how often are we checking that foundation?

If the foundation is slowly crumbling without our knowledge, we are missing vital signs that will significantly impact our overall performance. If your foundation is not strong it not only impacts your current performance but it impedes your ability to grow further.

To ensure a clear and rounded view of what is happening at the foundation of your business, a number of aspects across people and culture need to be looked at.  They can be broadly categorised as:

• capability
• clarity
• motivation; and a
• unified sense of purpose. 

These aspects are critical and are interdependent.    For example if capability is shown to be deteriorating, over time it will impact each of the other areas also. 

By reviewing the foundation of the business at a deeper and broader level we are able to complete an overall health assessment.  The assessment highlights any areas which require remedial action. This will  ensure that a strong platform is maintained. Once the business is in a strong and healthy state it is then ready for further growth strategies to be put in place.  Until this level is reached the ability of the business to reach its true potential is limited.  Regular monitoring of the health of the business enables it to detect early deterioration and remedy accordingly.

So do we now change and put all our focus on people and culture?  No, but we do need to make these measures primary measures and report on them as regularly as we do finance.

The leading businesses of this century will be those that have sustainable results gained through monitoring their Corporate Health as well as their Corporate Wealth!